1. Young Woo: It was uncomfortable sleeping in an unfamiliar place.
Most often than not, this is dismissed by the common folk as "naah, you're not autistic, everyone is uncomfortable sleeping in an unfamiliar place". Maybe everyone is uncomfortable but that is where the similarities end.
For an autistic person, the underlying factor why one is uncomfortable is not because of the place is unfamiliar per se rather it is because an autistic person's routine is disrupted. This is one of the common attributes of an autistic: routine.
For Young Woo, this is sleeping with her own blanket -- which is probably a weighted blanket. Having all the soft things around her. Turning off her room's light. Checking if everything in her room is in order. Then waking up, fixing her bed, her pillows, (and I think she has a whale), checking her room again if everything is in order, prepare, get dress, eat, and so on. You get the idea:
Routine.
It makes us relaxed if our daily routine is the same day in and day out. If this is disrupted, we get anxious and for some autistics they start to tic to help themselves calm down, if that doesn't work, or for some, they go into meltdown mode. Or, for some, they simply get confused, their world stops trying to reconcile the changes with their routine.
In Young Woo's case, she handles it well. She was not able to sleep well but her friend keeps her comfortable. She even listened to her when she said to just "leave it" when Young Woo tried to fix the bed.
Again, this does not have to be said: no two autistics are the same.
2. Young Woo: I am going to move out because I'm an adult.
As I mentioned in my feedback on Episode 7, independence. Sadly, this level of value attributed to independence comes from being "pitied", unnecessary intervention (intentional or not), being thought that "because I have autism, I can not stand on my own". This was shown in Young Woo's case. People did this and that because "I have autism".
It is good for a child to value independence and to stand on their own but I personally do not agree that the reason behind it should be because people looked down on them-intentionally or not. (Like Young Woo's father case, it was unintentional, he only wanted to help, and he simply agreed to an offer it was not his idea in the first place.)
In Young Woo's case, do ask an autistic for their opinion first, especially if you are someone who grew up with them. This level of trust given to you by an autistic is very precious for us. An autistic person's trust is like a chinaware.
3. Young Woo asked "are you okay" and then stated why she wore sneakers.
I used to do this a lot before, today I just keep quiet because apparently it comes off as rude or proud or "you're telling me I'm stupid?"
But, seriously, no. For us autistics, we are just sharing an information. For us, it's like an achievement. It's more personal. Think of it as trying to engage in small talk (many autistics find small talk challenging). That was what Young Woo tried and the judge could've replied "ahh, I haven't thought of that, I'll keep that in mind".
Another thing here is this: it registered to her mind if someone slips during a hike, it means they are wearing the wrong shoes. When she slipped it was indeed because she was wearing the wrong shoes then. The reason she offered her jacket to the judge was also because that's how it registered for her … although she did this more likely because she was thrown off by the reaction of the judge. She doesn't have time to process what happened especially in that scenario when they were trying to get into his good graces.
Again, don't "read between the lines" when an autistic say something. It just is. There is no other meaning behind it. Take it literally. Like in this case, Young Woo just said why she decided to wear sneakers on that day instead of something more formal.
Yes, yes, it is understood why the judge kept himself formal. For one, he had no idea they're going on a little hike. Two, who would've thought it was going to rain hard during the visit. No issue there. However, Young Woo was talking about herself, she did not tell the judge "oh you high ranking judge, where is your common sense, hahahaha, I wore sneakers!" No. The judge could've replied, "I haven't thought of that, yeah, you have point, it rained too."
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That's it for this episode.
Lastly, to quote: You not being employed anywhere with your grades is discrimination, dishonesty, and corruption. No matter how you got here, it's only fair that you joined the firm, albeit late.
Again, I do not speak for the autistic community. I am only trying to explain things, mainly coming from my own experience, and the experience of other autistics who shared their stories.
No two autistics are the same; and autism is four-dimensional.
You can learn more about autistics and autism by searching for #ActuallyAutistics / #ActuallyAutistic or asking a question with the hashtag #AskingAutistics. Twitter is a good start where these hashtags are often used.
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